Urals crude diffs holds steady in thin trading
Urals crude held steady on Thursday in thin trading, but a further hike in freight rates for oil cargoes from Russian ports bound for Asia could weigh on its differentials to dated Brent, market sources said.
Sanctions are clearly hurting the Russian economy but U.S. President Donald Trump is keeping his allies guessing whether he will sign off on more measures, despite Washington being party to the G7's deal to coordinate steps against the Kremlin, the EU's sanctions chief told Reuters.
PLATTS WINDOW
No bids or offers were reported in the Platts window on Thursday for Urals, Azeri BTC or CPC Blend crude.
NEWS
Fires broke out at fuel and energy facilities in Russia's Volgograd region as a result of a drone attack, Governor Andrei Bocharov said on Thursday.
The United States imposed sanctions on Serbia's Russian-owned oil company NIS (NIIS.BEL) on Thursday, prompting neighbouring Croatia to cut crude supplies and raising concerns that the country's sole refinery may halt operations within weeks.
